Airport, traffic, sewage spills: San Diego keeps wrestling with the same old problems

Andrew Kleske

(Andrew Kleske)

U-T Letter writers

City’s new leaders will encounter old issues

Re “San Diego should find new airport location” (Dec. 22): I have lived in San Diego for 45 years where I have been an actively involved and committed resident.

We once had a city councilman from 1953-1957 whose name was Clair Burgener. I visited him around 15 years ago as he was nearing the end of his life and I asked him, “Clair, what were your major challenges when you sat on the council some 50 years ago?”

He answered, “Si, we had two major issues at that time: how to stop the continuous Tijuana sewage spills and where to relocate the San Diego airport.”

To the candidates for mayor in 2020 who were speculated about in a recent edition: please, leadership and results.

I live two blocks away and for the past 51 years have walked that intersection without seeing even one pedestrian excepting the homeless living in the canyon and under the bridge. San Diegans are too lazy to walk and besides, it’s such a privilege to drive a nice shiny car.

As for public transit, you must be kidding, does anyone really believe that important residents of this city will submit to second-class citizenship? Everybody in this town talks a sweet talk except can’t walk a sweet mile or take a sweet bus. Just recently the Metropolitan Transit Service cut back bus service in Clairemont and I have noticed literally tens of thousands more cars on Balboa Avenue. This is not coincidental.

What an exciting idea for San Diego, attracting talented and innovative men and women who want to enter public service without being co-opted by special interests with big money. Now that’s an idea we should support if we are indeed America’s Finest City.